Corb7 International March 2012 Newsletter

Scams & Scandals – Sign of the Times!

Maybe it’s a sign of the times – maybe not – but whatever the cause, financial markets have seen a tremendous increase in scams. Some international banks are seeing forged securities submitted for deposit on nearly a daily basis. With this as a backdrop and the recent conviction of R. Allen Stanford making international headlines, we thought it important to review the financial landscape. http://on.wsj.com/x3C7yJ Odds are against you ever running into any of these swindles but we still think it best to be aware. For your benefit, below we list some of more prominent cons reported by various sources.

Brother, Can You Spare $6 Trillion?

By RACHEL DONADIO
Published: February 17, 2012

ROME — The Italian police on Friday arrested eight people on charges related to the seizure of $6 trillion in fake United States Treasury bonds, in a mysterious scheme that stretched from Hong Kong to Switzerland to the southern Italian region of Basilicata… Read more

Scams Involving the Federal Reserve Name

High Yield Investment Programs: January 2012
For more than a decade, the Federal Reserve has been warning the public about fraudulent investment schemes that go by various names, but generically are known as High Yield Investment Programs (also known as “Private Placement Programs,” “Capital Enhancement Programs,” “Riskless Principal Trading Programs,” “Federal Reserve Trading Programs” or “Bank Debenture Trading Programs”). These schemes continue to be used to target innocent investors. The programs purport to be highly secretive, but the marketer of the fraud scheme claims to have connections to the Federal Reserve or some other internationally renowned organization such as the United Nations, the IMF or the World Bank… Read more

Fictitious Federal Reserve Grant: February 2012
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is aware of an ongoing scam that involves fraudsters claiming to be from the Federal Reserve (sometimes using the name James Carter) contacting the public through unsolicited phone calls or emails regarding a fictitious $7000 federal grant. In most instances regarding this scam, the fraudsters require the victims to wire a certain sum of money (via Western Union or Moneygram) in order to receive the fictitious grant… Read more

What Are the Biggest Financial Scams of 2012?

By KENNETH LONG
Published February 4th,2012

Every year shows various trends in financial scams. In 2010 and 2011, debt settlement scams, tax reduction frauds and worthless vehicle extended warranties were prevalent. While it may be too soon to determine what the biggest scams in 2012 will be, it is expected that boiler room payday loan operations may become one of the faster growing scams… Read more

Nigerian Oil Scams

By INTERNATIONIAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Published January 4, 2012

The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) is warning members over ongoing scams involving the fraudulent sale of Nigerian petroleum products. The Bureau is regularly referred cases where vessels belonging to members are caught in the middle of a dispute. Most cases involve small companies based in either Nigeria or Ghana and poor quality documents that IMB analyses quickly proved as fake. The documents purportedly show the ownership of cargoes carried on board certain vessels and the scam centres around these spurious documents being sold on to unwitting buyers, often at a heavy discount or for a hefty advance fee…

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